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How to successfully manufacture
a low fat margarine spread with only 10% fat
Palsgaard Technical Paper, September 2012
way to succeed
- let us help
you do
so.
It is a well known fact that consumers are requesting
healthier foods with an increasingly lower fat content.
This is also true for margarine spreads. Based on
100 years of experience creating emulsifiers for the
margarine industry Palsgaard is therefore pleased to
present an emulsifier system which makes it possible
to lower the fat content to as low as 10%. This article
explains both how the emulsifier system works but
equally important how to get the correct processing
conditions.
By
Anders Mølbak
Jensen,
Product & Application Manager,
Lipid & Fine Foods
Palsgaard A/S.
Traditionally margarine, dairy and
other spread producers have been
cautious about developing and producing low fat spreads due to the
problems it could generate in the
production, such as an increased
risk of unstable products and insecure production parameters.
for additional nutritional benefits
such as the possibility for a reduction of saturated fat in the food
intake together with a reduction
of the total fat intake. At the same
time the total cost of raw materials
for low fat spreads are lower than
for normal margarines.
Benefits from
reducing the fat content to 10%
The fact is that there is an increasing focus on fat reduction from a
nutrition point of view due to the increasing number of people with a
BMI above 30 and the subsequent
potential risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes etc. Reducing the
fat content in a margarine spread
beyond the traditional 40% allows
Why use spreads?
Why not just leave out the spread
and make a healthier sandwich?
Because the spread has a positive influence on the overall eating quality of the sandwich. As the
sandwich is eaten the spread will
be mixed with the crumb structure during the chewing and give
a better mouth-feel and swelling.
At the same time it will improve the
Table 1:
Recipe suggestion for a 10% low fat spread
Emulsifier
Palsgaard® DMG 0298
0.60%
Palsgaard PGPR 4175
0.40%
®
Palsgaard 6118
0.70%
RDB palm oil
2.00%
Rape seed oil
6.26%
Flavour
0.02%
Colour Anatti 3525-OSS
0.02%
Salt
0.60%
Potassium sorbate
0.20%
Maltodextrine
1.50%
®
Oil blend
Water phase
Sodium alginate
Water
0.55%
87.15%
Adjusted to pH 4.5 with citric acids
Total content
100%
mouth-feel and flavour release.
Additionally, it also reduces the
migration of water into the crumb
structure in the sandwich - typically
water from vegetables like tomatoes or cucumbers will soften the
crumb structure in the bread, making the sandwich soggy and thus
reducing the eating quality significantly. Making sandwiches without
applying a thin layer of margarine
spread is therefor not an option.
Especially not if the sandwich is to
be stored for a while before being
eaten.
How to make a
10% low fat spread
At Palsgaard we therefor decided
to see if it were possible to successfully create a low fat spread
with only 10% fat content with the
boundaries listed below:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
10% fat content
No hydrogenated oils or fats
No hydrogenated emulsifiers
Possibility to use sustainable
palm oil (RSPO certified)
No allergenic ingredients
Non GMO
No trans fatty acids (<1 %)
In order to do so, we created the
recipe, shown across in table 1,
which was subsequently tested
in our large scale margarine pilot
plant in order to specify the right
processing parameters.
Palsgaard Technical Paper - September 2012
How to successfully manufacture a low fat margarine spread with only 10% fat
2
The following explains how we
were able to achieve the desired
results.
The emulsion type used in the recipe is W/O (water in oil) as used in
other margarine and spread products. In theory it is difficult to reduce
the fat content to lower than 25.4%
if the water droplets have exactly
the same size in a W/O emulsion,
as shown in figure 1a. In practice,
however, by utilizing the combined
benefits of emulsifiers Palsgaard®
DMG 0298 and Palsgaard® PGPR
4175 it is possible to create water
droplets with different sizes. By so
doing the emulsion can be much
more closely packed as shown in
figure 1b. This is the reason why it
is possible to produce 20% - 15 %
or even 10% low fat spreads.
Instability problems
in low fat spreads
When creating a low fat spread it
is important that the fat composition contains more liquid oil than
similar high fat products, due to
the fact that the oil phase needs
to cover a higher amount of water
droplets. If the fat phase contains
too much solid fat the smoothness of the product will disappear.
Equally, if the emulsion contains
too much palm stearin it will tend
to become more unstable in 10%
low fat spreads compared to palm
Figure 1a:
Water droplet size in a traditional
25.4% spread
Figure 1b:
Water droplet size in a 10% spread
made with Palsgaard® DMG 0298 and
Palsgaard® PGPR 4175.
oil. The reason is probably more
brittleness during and after production.
Figures 2a and 2b demonstrate
the buildup of primary crystal bond
structure and how the fat, if it is brittle more or less, squeezes out the
water with mechanical treatment.
The emulsifiers that are located at
the surface between water- and oil
phase cannot avoid this phenomena. Only a combination of the right
process parameters and fat composition can solve this problem. It
is therefor not always an emulsifier
problem when free water is found.
Creating an emulsifier
system for 10% low fat spreads
In order to face the challenge of
oil separation and secure the right
mouth-feel of the spread we used
two different types of emulsifiers:
Palsgaard® DMG 0298, which is a
mono-diglyceride (E471) but atypical in comparison to many other
mono-diglycerids since the fatty
acid combination is mainly based
on oleic acids. The unsaturated fatty acids offer better emulsification
and emulsion stability for reduced
and low fat spreads compared to
standard mono-diglycerides.
Figures 2a and 2c show the effect
of crystallization and the development of crystals and the formation of crystal network. Mechanical treatment will break down the
primary crystal bond structure and
give a more smooth structure with
plasticity mainly based on van der
Waals forces (Secondary crystal
bond structure).
Figure 2a:
Primary crystal bond structure.
Figure 2b:
Free water after squeezing
Figure 2c:
Secondary crystal bond structure.
Palsgaard® DMG 0298 comes in
paste form whereas Palsgaard®
PGPR 4175 is in liquid form.
Palsgaard Technical Paper - September 2012
How to successfully manufacture a low fat margarine spread with only 10% fat
3
water droplets become too viscous
and the spread starts to become
less stable with a higher risk of free
water.
18-22°C
18-22°C
Low Fat
Spread
60-65°C
Cooling 22-25°C
Figure 3:
Process flow chart of a low fat spread emulsion
Palsgaard® PGPR 4175 is made
from polyglycerol polyricineolate
(E476) but is more polymerised
than normal PGPR types.
PGPR is a co-emulsifier, meaning
that you will only obtain the desired
effect if it is used in combination
with another type of emulsifier. In
low fat spreads PGPR is exceptionally good at coating water
droplets, fat crystals and increasing viscosity in low fat emulsions.
Without PGPR it is not possible to
make the very low fat spreads.
Palsgaard® PGPR 4175 is therefor
necessary for stabilizing the 10%
low fat spread as it helps avoid
fluctuations during the production
process and reduces the amount
of rejected product. Palsgaard®
PGPR 4175 is neutral in both taste
and smell and is thus a unique
non-flavour component.
Stabilising the fat phase
The oil absorber Palsgaard® 6118
is based on non-hydrogenated
vegetable fats and is especially
suited for applications where we
don’t want to use hydrogenated
products. The oil absorbing effect
of Palsgaard® 6118 is effective
in products which contain a high
amount of liquid oil, such as the oil
phase in low fat spreads. The oil
absorbing behaviour reduces the
risk of oiling out.
The effect of sodium alginate
in 10% low fat spreads
In the water phase we ad sodium
alginate (E401), which reacts as
a thickener of the water phase. It
stabilizes the water phase in the
10% low fat spread and reduces
the risk of squeezing out the water.
Sodium alginate also improves the
mouth-feel of very low fat spreads.
The optimal effect is achieved
when using 0.55% sodium alginate. At 0.75% sodium alginate the
Figure 4
Viscosity in low fat spread emulsions
30000
25000
cp
20000
15000
10000
How to set up the
right processing conditions
The process of manufacturing
these low fat spreads is the opposite of what is traditionally used
when making a 40% spread. Therefor, the practical experience from
producing 40% low fat spreads
cannot be used in the production
of very low fat spread emulsions.
Figure 3 shows the process flow
needed to successfully manufacture a 10% low fat spread.
The water phase needs to be
added slowly, but the emulsion itself will have a tendency to build
up a lot of viscosity in very low fat
spreads if the mechanical treatment is too intensive. The stirrers
that are functioning fine when making 30 - 40% low fat spread emulsions, need to be designed for
more viscous emulsions otherwise
“dead” areas will arise in the emulsion tank. Anker stirrers function
very well in emulsion tanks for the
relative high viscous emulsions.
Slow agitation is important to avoid
the build-up of too viscous emulsions. Figure 4 shows that double
up of agitation in a pre-emulsifying
unit can increase the viscosity up
to 5 times.
Keeping the temperature between
55 – 65 oC in the emulsion- and
buffer tanks is important for reducing the risk of high viscous emulsions. If this is not heeded the
viscous emulsion may become so
thick that it is impossible to pump
from the tanks. This is also why pin
machines are not necessary in the
production flow. The production
capacity can be high and the packing temperatures do not need to
be very low because of the cooling
capacity in the water phase.
5000
0
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
r/min
Palsgaard Technical Paper - September 2012
How to successfully manufacture a low fat margarine spread with only 10% fat
4
The crystallisation part of the process is important, but in another
way compared to high fat margarine products. In low fat spreads
the fat crystals do not dominate
the structure in the same way as
in margarine and butter. The concentrated packing of water droplets produce a W/O emulsion with
a more mayonnaise-like structure.
In high fat margarines the mouthfeel is affected by the melting crystals and the subsequent phase
inversion of the emulsion. Low fat
products and its very strong emulsifier systems reduce the instability
effect just because the fat crystals
melt down unlike the high fat products.
Storage
- the last step of production
In the first days after production
the crystallisation and formation of
crystal network will continue, thereby affecting the low fat spread. It
is our experience that high stor-
age temperatures help transform
the spread to a softer product also
after cooling to low temperatures.
Contrary, fast cooling directly from
production will increase the tendency to brittle and more unstable
low fat spreads. Therefor, the best
way to store low fat spreads is at
15°C for 3-5 days before cooling it
down to 5°C.
For further information please
contact:
Product & Application Manager
Anders Mølbak Jensen
[email protected]
or +45 7682 7682
Conclusion
As described above, it is possible to create a low fat margarine
spread with only 10% fat and overcome the usual challenges of oil
separation and poor mouth-feel,
but it must be done with a clear focus on the recipe and on the production parameters. Choosing the
right combination of emulsifiers will
get you most of the way, and getting your processing parameters
right will get you the rest of the
way.
Palsgaard Technical Paper - September 2012
How to successfully manufacture a low fat margarine spread with only 10% fat
5